Nick Weber Honor Flight
Cofounded by retired Air Force Captain Earl Morse and WWII veteran Jeff Miller, Honor Flights are conducted by non-profit organizations dedicated to transporting as many United States military veterans as possible to see the memorials of the respective war(s) they fought in Washington, D.C. at no cost to the veterans. The first Honor Flight took place in May 2005, when six small planes flew 12 veterans to Washington, D.C. Nick's Honor Flight Departing Vietnam veteran Nick Weber (E-4, US 54 926 428, 4/60 Arty) was chosen to go on an Honor Flight traveling on October 10, 2017. He and 92 other Korean War and Vietnam War era veterans, their guardians, medical personnel, and “handlers” left the Waterloo airport early Tuesday morning aboard SHD Post 730 Cedar Valley Honor Flight #20 bound for Baltimore National Airport. Accompanying Nick on the flight as his guardian was his son Chris. Prior to their departure from Waterloo, they were greeted at the airport by a Waterloo Fire Department truck with an American Flag flying from the top of the ladder. They were treated to breakfast provided by HyVee, then with their identification badges around their neck, they were waved past security and escorted onto a chartered plane for their day-long experience in Washington DC. Water Salute and WWII Memorial Upon arriving in Baltimore, their plane was given a “water salute” by fire trucks on each side of their plane as they sat on the tarmac. They then boarded three chartered buses that drove them to the World War II memorial. After having his picture taken by the Iowa Column, he went in search of “Kilroy”. He was successful! Kilroy was there. It was 90 degrees in Washington D.C. but their chartered buses had plenty of water and the drivers knew where all the bathrooms were. Sayin' 'Hi' to Abe The veterans and their guardians then re-boarded the buses and had a tour of Washington D.C. to include the Washington Monument, Capitol Building, White House, and Martin Luther King memorial. They had a boxed lunch (sub sandwich) on the bus then drove to the Lincoln Memorial. With a mere 15 minutes of free time, Nick hiked up the stairs at the Lincoln Memorial to “say ‘Hi’ to Abe”, stopped to use the restroom and was back in time to board the bus for their next stop at the Vietnam and Korean Memorials. Vietnam Memorial At the Vietnam Memorial, with help from Chris and Google, they located the names of former Don Bosco classmates: Bob Schares, Mike Mullen, Jerry Fettkether. The Korean War Memorial was also nearby and they viewed it as well. Arlington Back on the buses, they drove to Arlington National Cemetery where they were driven to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Note: the honor flight buses are the ONLY buses allowed to drive into the cemetery. Four of the veterans from the honor flight were chosen to place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In honor of the visiting veterans, the guard did a slight drag of his heel at the beginning of his march (Example: 1:22 and 10:18). Nick reported he was watching for this as they had been told it would happen. Visitors were warned not to touch the chains surrounding the tomb. At two separate times, (school children were hanging on the chain, and an adult touched the chain), the guard turned, lowered his weapon, and barked an order at the offenders. Apparently it was VERY effective! During the changing of the guard, strict silence is observed. It was all very impressive. Right across from the bus was Audie Murphy’s tomb, the most decorated WWI veteran and an actor. His tomb is near an oak at the edge of the cemetery. There is no special acknowledgement of his tomb. Two rows back, and three graves to the right was the tomb of SSG Joe Ronnie Hooper, the most decorated Vietnam veteran. Across from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was the Women’s Memorial. Following this they went to the Air Force Memorial and a group picture was taken. The Air Force memorial is located between Arlington Cemetery on the left and the Pentagon on the right. There were air conditioned bathrooms, which was important to these old guys! Departing Supper (pastrami wrap – it was really good – Doritos and cookies) was served while they were at the Air Force Memorial. This was the official end of their day in Washington D.C. They were bused back to the Baltimore airport where they boarded their chartered plane for their return flight. Mail Call Once on the plane, they had “mail call” where each veteran was give an envelope full of mail that had been sent to them by friends, family, community members, and school children. E-4 Nicholas J. Weber had lots of fan mail! The following represent just some of the letters he received: *Nancy *Andrea's Family *Chris's Family *Stephanie *Mary Sue *Kathy *Kitty, Louie, & Charlie *Family at Miller's *Local Students Back Home Arriving back in Waterloo at 9:30 pm, they were greeted by an airport full of people, to included the Cedar Valley Big Band, the Jesup Knights of Columbus in all their capes and feathers and many, many friends and family. It was a reported rumor that his guardian Chris said “Dad was so slow coming through the airport that I had to go back three times so that I would be behind him as we came through the line.” When asked what he thought of his honor flight, Nick replied "It made your knees weak." Related Stories Return from Vietnam One of the guys who was scheduled to leave Vietnam was playing football the night before and broke his collar bone. The Army won’t send anyone home with a broken bone. They have to be healthy to leave country. So there was an open seat on the plane. The day before, Nick got orders to be a Sgt (E-5). He was listed as being on guard duty that night. He told them sergeants don’t do guard duty. They said, You aren’t a sergeant. He pulled out his orders and said “Yes, I am!”. Later that night he got orders to go home. He was selected to fill the empty seat. This was ten days before he was scheduled to leave so nobody at home knew he was coming. The Army issued Nick a new uniform to travel home. On the way home, the plane stopped in Tokyo for refueling. There was an Iowa National Guard unit in Tokyo on the way to Vietnam. Some of the departing solders told them some lies about how bad things were in Vietnam. They scared the heck out of them. Nick said “I didn’t like that. I did not do that.” When he arrived in Fort Lewis Washington in the middle of the night, he was fed a steak dinner. Soldier were promised a steak dinner when they got home. The next day he took a taxi to Tacoma and boarded a plane to Chicago. Nick traveled in his uniform because he could get a cheaper ticket as a serviceman. He did not encounter any negative comments on his flight other than a comment from the stewardess. This could be because most of his travels were in the middle of the night. The stewardess on the flight from Tacoma to Chicago made the comment to Nick "There are two soldiers on this flight." Nick looked around and did not see anyone else in uniform. She continued - "The other one is in baggage." When he got to Chicago, he had a few minutes between planes. It was around 10:15 pm, and he knew Mom and Dad were already in bed. He called, Dad answered. Nick asked him if he could pick him up at the Cedar Rapids airport at 11:45 pm. Dad was surprised but said he could be there. As the plane coasted up to the gate, Nick looked out the window of the plane and saw the ’62 Ford come driving in. He was home! The day after Nick got home from Vietnam he was right back in the field, picking corn. He was in the field south of the house when he heard shots. He was on the platform under the steering wheel of the John Deere 60 in an instant. It was the first day of hunting season! When recounting this story after his Honor Flight in 2017, he said “I ran over some of dad’s corn.” He then added, “I wouldn’t fit under the steering wheel now.” Return from DC On Monday, Nick was in the fields, picking corn. On Tuesday, he was in D.C. being honored for his service. On Wednesday, when he came back, he was right back in the field, picking corn. Just like he did almost 50 years before. Itinerary *5:30 - 5:45a Arrive at Waterloo Municipal Airport. *5:30 - 6:30a Breakfast served by Hy-Vee *7:00a Depart Waterloo Municipal Airport: Miami Air Flight #375 *10:15a(ET) Arrive at Baltimore-Washington International Airport *10:30a Board buses at Airport *11:00a Depart for WWII Memorial *11:45a Arrive WWII Memorial *12:30p Board buses *12:45p Depart for tour of Washington DC driving past Washington Monument, Capitol Building, White House, and Martin Luther King memorial *1:30p Arrive at Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam, and Korean Memorial *3:15p Board buses *3:30p Depart for Arlington National Cemetery & Woman's Memorial *4:00p Depart for Arlington National Cemetery for changing of the guard *4:30p Observe the Changing of the Guard and Wreath Laying by SHD Post 730 Cedar Valley Honor Flight *5:00p Board buses *5:15p Drive bys TBD by guides and bus drivers *5:50p Arrive Air Force Memorial. Group pictures *6:20p Board buses *6:30p Depart for BWI Airport *7:30p Arrive at BWI Airport *8:00p Depart for Waterloo: Miami Air Fligth #376 *9:30p - 10:00p Arrive in Waterloo "WELCOME HOME"